Prescription drug costs

This microscope image made available by the National Cancer Institute Center for Cancer Research in 2015 shows human colon cancer cells with the nuclei stained red. On Friday, May 29, 2020, doctors are reporting success with newer drugs that control certain types of cancer better, reduce the risk it will come back and make treatment simpler and easier to bear. (NCI Center for Cancer Research via AP)

Doctors are reporting success with newer drugs that control certain types of cancer better, reduce the risk it will come back and make treatment simpler and easier to bear. Gentler drugs would be a relief to patients like Jenn Carroll, a 57-year-old human resources director from New Hartford,...

FILE - This Monday, April 6, 2020 file photo shows an arrangement of hydroxychloroquine pills in Las Vegas.At least 13 states have obtained a total of more than 10 million doses of malaria drugs to treat COVID-19 patients despite warnings from doctors that more tests are needed before the medications that President Trump once fiercely promoted should be used to help people with the coronavirus. (AP Photo/John Locher,File)

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Republican state leaders in Oklahoma and Utah are facing scrutiny for spending millions of dollars combined to purchase malaria drugs promoted by President Trump to treat COVID-19 patients that many other states obtained for free and that doctors warned shouldn't be used...

FILE- In this Aug. 4, 2017 file photo, former pharmaceutical company CEO, Martin Shkreli, arrives at federal court in New York. The convicted former drug company wants out of prison so he can help research a treatment for the coronavirus. Shkreli's attorney said Tuesday, April 7, 2020, that he will be filing court papers asking federal authorities to release Shkreli for three months so he can do laboratory work “under strict supervision.” (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — Convicted former drug company CEO Martin Shkreli, known as “Pharma Bro,” wants to get out of prison so he can help research a treatment for the coronavirus, his lawyer said Tuesday. Defense attorney Ben Brafman said that he will file court papers asking federal authorities to...

FILE - In this June 19, 2015, file the Justice Department Building in Washington. The Justice Department says pharmaceutical company Sandoz Inc. will pay a $195 million penalty to resolve criminal charges of conspiring to fix prices and rig bids for generic drugs. Officials say Monday, March 2, 2020, that the company would admit guilt and pay the penalty. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department said Monday that pharmaceutical company Sandoz Inc. will pay a $195 million penalty to resolve criminal charges of conspiring to fix prices and rig bids to stifle competition for generic drugs. As part of the agreement, the generic pharmaceutical company...

This undated photo provided by Esperion Inc. shows the cholesterol-lowering drug Nexletol made by Esperion Therapeutics Inc. The Food and Drug Administration on Friday, Feb. 21, 2020 approved Esperion Therapeutics Inc.’s Nexletol for people genetically predisposed to have sky-high cholesterol and others who have heart disease and need to further lower their bad cholesterol.(Esperion Inc. via AP)

TRENTON, N.J. (AP) — U.S. regulatorson Friday approveda new type of cholesterol-lowering drug aimed at millions of people who can't tolerate — or don't get enough help from — widely used statin pills like Lipitor and Crestor. The Food and Drug Administration approved Esperion Therapeutics Inc.’s...

In this Jan. 31, 2020, photo, Ann Lovell stands at the security checkpoint before her flight from Salt Lake City International Airport to San Diego. Lovell travels every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah's public insurer. Lovell is one of about 10 state workers participating in a year-old program to lower prescription drug costs by having public employees buy their medication in Mexico at a steep discount compared to U.S. prices. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ann Lovell had never owned a passport before last year. Now, the 62-year-old teacher is a frequent flier, traveling every few months to Tijuana, Mexico, to buy medication for rheumatoid arthritis — with tickets paid for by the state of Utah’s public insurer. Lovell is one of...

FILE - In this Sept. 7, 2016 file photo, John Davis, then executive director of the Mississippi Department of Human Services, answers lawmakers questions at a hearing at the Capitol in Jackson, Miss. Special agents from the office of State Auditor, have arrested Davis, and several others in connection with a multi-million dollar embezzlement scheme. The indictments include a range of violations involving fraud and embezzlement. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis, File)

Mississippi's state auditor said Thursday that investigators believe at least $4 million in federal welfare money was stolen by the former head of the state welfare agency and others in the nation's poorest state. At least $48,000 of that paid for a luxury drug rehabilitation program for a former...

WASHINGTON (AP) — The latest on the president's State of the Union speech (all times local): 10:40 p.m. Among the made-for-TV moments in President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech: The military husband of one of Trump's guests returned home from deployment and surprised his family. Amy...

President Donald Trump pumps his fist after signing a new North American trade agreement with Canada and Mexico, during an event at the White House, Wednesday, Jan. 29, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed into law a major rewrite of the rules of trade with Canada and Mexico, celebrating the fulfillment of one of his top campaign promises while declining to share the moment with Democratic lawmakers whose support was essential to getting it...

FILE - In this Aug. 4, 2017, file photo, Martin Shkreli leaves federal court in New York while on trial for deceiving investors in a pair of failed hedge funds. On Monday, Jan. 27, 2020, New York state and federal authorities sued the imprisoned Shkreli, also known as "Pharma Bro," over business tactics that helped make him the bad-boy face of profiteering in pharmaceuticals, seeking to bar him from the industry for life. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

NEW YORK (AP) — State and federal authorities sued imprisoned entrepreneur Martin Shkreli on Monday over tactics that shielded a profitable drug from competition after a price hike made the so-called “Pharma Bro” infamous. Shkreli was scorned as the bad-boy face of pharmaceuticals profiteering...